The US hazardous waste management sector is at a crossroads, where its capacity will determine whether the country can sustain industrial growth without undermining environmental and public health standards. A new independent analysis by Charles River Associates (CRA), commissioned by Veolia, reveals just how deeply hazardous waste management underpins the entire economy—not as a peripheral issue, but as a critical input to production across sectors. The report, *Hazardous Waste Management: A Hidden Input to US Economic Growth*, underscores that virtually every good and service in the US either directly generates hazardous waste or depends on inputs that do, from food production and agriculture to the chemicals used in life-saving medicines.
The scale of the challenge is substantial. The US currently generates over 30 million tons of hazardous waste annually, equating to roughly 200 pounds per person. But this burden is set to rise sharply in the coming decade. The report projects an additional 5 million tons per year by 2033, driven by industrial reshoring policies and the expansion of strategic sectors like semiconductor manufacturing and electric vehicle battery production. These industries are not just high-value—they are also hazardous waste-intensive. If the sector’s management capacity fails to keep pace, even a minor shortfall of 1 to 3 percent could erase between $27 billion and $82 billion from US economic output over the next ten years.
The implications are clear: hazardous waste management is no longer an afterthought in industrial planning. “The question is not whether demands on hazardous waste management capacity will increase as the economy grows,” said Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia, “but what needs to be done for the capacity to keep up.” The report highlights a paradox at the heart of modern production—industrial progress depends on hazardous waste management systems that are often invisible to policymakers and the public. Yet their failure could stall entire supply chains.
Veolia, already the second-largest hazardous waste management player in the US following its 2026 acquisition of Clean Earth, operates a sprawling network of over 100 service centers, 33 treatment facilities, and six high-temperature incineration units. Its operations span key industrial hubs, including Arkansas, Texas, Arizona, New Jersey, and California, where demand for hazardous waste treatment is particularly acute. The company’s Beyond PFAS offering exemplifies how advanced technologies are now essential for handling complex contaminants that traditional methods cannot address.
The report’s findings challenge conventional wisdom about where environmental and economic priorities should align. “One of the clearest findings of the report is just how ubiquitous hazardous waste management is across the economy,” said Alan Jaske, the report’s author and Associate Principal at CRA. “The ability to effectively manage hazardous waste is therefore a material consideration not only for environmental policy and public health, but also for industrial activity and economic growth.” This reframes hazardous waste management from a compliance issue to a strategic economic asset.
Bob Cappadona, President and CEO of Veolia North America, framed the stakes plainly: “Proper treatment and disposal of hazardous waste helps protect public health while advancing the economy.” The timing of the report’s release, coinciding with National Pollution Prevention Week, underscores the tension between industrial ambition and environmental stewardship. As the US accelerates its push toward reshoring and green technology, the hazardous waste sector must evolve from a reactive service to a proactive enabler of growth.
The challenge is not just technological but infrastructural. Expanding treatment capacity, securing permits, and training a skilled workforce will require coordinated action from industry, regulators, and investors. The Veolia model—spanning treatment, storage, disposal, and resource recovery—offers a blueprint, but it cannot shoulder the burden alone. If the projections hold, the US will need a 15–20 percent increase in hazardous waste management capacity within the next decade to avoid bottlenecks that could ripple through supply chains, inflate costs, and stifle innovation.
What remains to be seen is whether policymakers will treat hazardous waste management as a strategic priority or continue to view it as a cost center. The CRA report makes one thing undeniable: the invisible hand of hazardous waste management is now a visible force in economic resilience. The question is whether the sector’s growth can outpace the economy’s—or whether the US will face a reckoning between ambition and capacity.